Considerations for Social Needs Screening in a Local Public Health Agency

The social determinants of health impact the health outcomes of local public health agency clients. This report shows how the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County (DOH) sought to address this for its clients.

This midstream intervention identified individual DOH client needs and navigated clients to community resources to address these social needs.

During the 2019 program, 768 DOH clients were screened, with 77% reporting having 1 or more social needs.

Staff and clients identified various challenges clients faced navigating resources on their own, and the value in having resource navigators within the local public health agency.

Program findings demonstrated alignment with priorities in the Community Health Assessment, leading to engagement of specific partners and planning for population-level policy interventions. Social needs screenings present a unique opportunity for local public health agencies to improve the circumstances of clients and implement health equity approaches in their communities.